Isoko Patriots Call for Special Court to Try Oil Thieves, Slam Tantita’s Distractors

The Isoko Patriots, comprising President Generals, stakeholders, and coordinators of oil pipeline surveillance in Delta State, have called on the Federal Government to establish special courts to try oil thieves and their sponsors.

The group made the call at a meeting held at Opute Hall, Ozoro, in Isoko North Local Government Area of the state.

The group said that the special court would enhance the work Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), was doing in the oil industry.

They said rather than call for the cancellation of its contract, the federal government should rather expand Tantita’s operational mandate, and gave them a pat in the back with a resounding vote of confidence.

They expressed deep concern over what it described as a coordinated smear campaign by criminal elements masquerading as ethnic agitators, aimed at discrediting Tantita’s achievements in securing oil pipelines across the Niger Delta region.

Addressing newsmen on their official position, Chief Adonis Ubuwere, Chairman of the Isoko PGs Forum and President General of Irri Kingdom, warned that any attempt to truncate Tantita’s operations would amount to a direct threat to national economic stability and regional security.

He stated that since Tantita, chaired by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo with Chief Kestin Pondi as Managing Director, took over pipeline surveillance operations in 2022, illegal bunkering and oil theft in the Isoko region have virtually disappeared, with significant employment created for local youths.

“The Isoko Patriots, a coalition of young professionals committed to peace and prosperity, alert the Nigerian public and security agencies to a calculated campaign, allegedly sponsored by crude oil theft syndicates, to undermine Tantita’s mandate,” the statement declared.

The group revealed that credible intelligence pointed to a broader conspiracy aimed at sabotaging Nigeria’s oil surveillance framework, in order to revive the illegal bunkering economy dismantled by Tantita’s operations.

They criticized the silence of ethnic agitators during past contracts awarded to non-indigenous firms, such as Eraskorp and Ocean Marine, at a time when crude oil theft reduced Nigeria’s daily production to just 700,000 barrels per day.

“These agitators said nothing while our environment was devastated, our communities militarized, and the nation bled economically,” the statement reads.

Describing Tantita’s role as a necessary intervention in a time of national crisis, the group emphasized that the contract aligns with the Petroleum Industry Act and reflects a strategic shift toward local content, inclusion, and accountability.

They praised the company’s subcontracts to Isoko-owned firms operating within OML 26 and OML 60, and its broad community engagement.

They condemned recent protests against the contract, stating that those behind them are either non-residents or completely detached from the realities on ground.

“Tantita is one of the largest employers of labour in Isoko land. It is disingenuous to call for the cancellation of its contract based on ethnicity. Isoko sons are executing contracts in Ijaw areas—should they now be excluded?” the statement questioned.

The coalition insisted that the real motivation behind the agitations is “corruption fighting back,” warning the Federal Government and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) not to fall for the deception.

“The gains since Tantita’s engagement are undeniable. Even oil thieves know this. This is not patriotism; it is a desperate pushback by criminal cartels,” they said.

“A winning team deserves applause, not replacement,” they said.

The vote of confidence motion was moved by the President General of Otor-Owhe community, Engr. Atunu Alfred, seconded by Comrade Morister Idibra, and unanimously adopted by all coordinators, workers, and the entire Isoko nation.